European Tour will suffer from Tiger’s latest setback, says Ryder Cup star Chris Wood
Former world No1 Tiger Woods’s aborted comeback also represents a blow to the European Tour, says England’s Chris Wood.
Fourteen-time Major winner Woods announced on Monday night that he was scrapping plans to play his first tournament in more than a year this week at the Safeway Open in California.
The 40-year-old, who has been working on rediscovering his form following persistent back problems, has also pulled out of next month’s Turkish Open – one of the final events in the European Tour’s Race To Dubai.
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“It would have been great for the European Tour for him to play in Turkey. There would have been that buzz of Tiger’s back,” said Wood, part of the European team defeated at the Ryder Cup earlier this month.
“It is really disappointing for myself as a golf fan. He was my golfing hero. He won the Masters when I was 10 years old. From that point on he’s the only guy I’ve ever looked up to.
“I don’t think he’ll ever say it’s over. He doesn’t deserve for his career to come to a finish in this way. He deserves to go out in all the style that his records still deserve.”
Wood, meanwhile, is this week aiming to become only the fourth man – after Colin Montgomerie, Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros – to follow victory in the PGA Championship by winning the British Masters.
“That’s quite a big thing for me to take in – and extra motivation to try,” he added. “That would be a hell of a thing to have on your CV, to be associated with those three players.”